Tuesday, October 10, 2006

As the President convenes a summit on school safety, the nation ponders how to keep children safe in schools across the country. The recent school shootings in Colorado and Pennsylvania came from predators vs. upset bullied students. While the official news suggests no pattern exists, there are several common elements.

One, they all involved guns. It’s hard to have a shooting without a weapon. Two, some degree of ill thinking occurred as a person functioning within the boundaries of society would not enter a school to kill their tormentors or molest children.

In all the discussions on school safety I see nothing on access to weapons or on treatment for those undergoing an active mental health crisis. While studies show those in crisis are more likely to be a victim of violence than the perpetrator, it is important to raise the issue.

All I see is a showy summit with no discussion of the patterns that exist. But then again, I could be wrong. Could Bush actually be doing something? Check and see if The Caryle Group purchased a school security company...